The requested data is not centrally held by the Department, and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The Department does not routinely collect or publish data on (a) the staffing of arm’s length bodies (ALBs) broken down by earnings band, or (b) what the Hon. Member describes as the ‘total unfunded public sector pension liability’. However, in most cases, the ALBs in question publish their own data on staffing, remuneration, and pension schemes in each body’s annual report and accounts, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.

The Hon. Member can also find details of staff numbers broken down by grade for each ALB, and their overall paybill, in the Workforce Management Information statistics published by the Department each month, the latest edition of which, for June 2026, are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-workforce-management-information

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel.

Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work. Attempting to calculate an FTE or cost figure would incur disproportionate cost and still be highly inaccurate.

There are small teams that provide advisory support, but their headcount is withheld under standard data protection protocols (teams of five or fewer).

Sponsored Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are typically independent public authorities directly responsible for their own compliance. Information regarding ALBs’ internal resource allocation is not held by Defra.

(a) The attached table shows the headcount of employees in Core Defra and Arm's Length Bodies, broken down by salary band, as at June 2026.

(b) This information is not held centrally.

• The information requested is not held centrally, the number of employees in each grade for ALB is published in the DBT: workforce management information. The latest information is May 2026. This publication provides headcount by grade and not by salary band as requested. Headcount and payroll data structure is recorded following the Cabinet Office guidance for all the Civil Service.
• The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and the Civil Servants and Others Pension Scheme (CSOPS) – known as “alpha” – are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes but the Department is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities. The Government Actuary’s Department’s report is contained within Civil Superannuation annual account 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK”

• The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an on-going responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel.
• Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work. Attempting to calculate an FTE or cost figure would incur disproportionate cost and still be highly inaccurate.

This table outlines the total people employed for each Arm’s Length Body (ALB) for each salary band of total earnings or nearest equivalent, and the total unfunded public sector pensions liability for each ALB.

Every government department has a responsibility under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), and must have due regard to specified equality considerations when carrying out its functions. This activity is embedded within mainstream roles in both the department and arm’s length bodies rather than undertaken by dedicated staff. The department does however have dedicated 0.8 Full Time Equivalent to support capability across the department, and provides assurance on compliance. Information on how we meet our PSED obligations is available on our Equality and Diversity page at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/equality-and-diversity.

The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost to the department.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an on-going responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel.

Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work. Attempting to calculate an FTE or cost figure would incur disproportionate cost and still be highly inaccurate.

Most MHCLG-sponsored NDPBs and HM Land Registry are independent public authorities responsible for their own compliance with statutory duties, including the Public Sector Equality Duty. Executive Agencies such as the Planning Inspectorate and QEII Centre operate under different governance arrangements, although they are also required to comply with applicable equality legislation. Information regarding ALBs’ internal resource allocation in relation to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is not held by MHCLG.

A breakdown of staff within the requested bands for each body is provided in the following table.

Some of the department’s bodies are out of scope for this question. School Teachers’ Review Body does not have salaried staff. As non-ministerial departments, Ofsted and Ofqual have responsibility for their own staffing, pay and budgetary arrangements.

I have asked His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, and Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham CBE, respectively to write directly to the honourable member. A copy of each reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Public sector pensions are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes, and where an arm’s length body is a member of these schemes, it is not possible to separately identify their share of underlying assets and liabilities.

DWP, as a public authority, is required to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). Responsibility for meeting these requirements is embedded across the Department and forms part of the responsibilities of all DWP employees. Guidance and support relating to the PSED are available to staff through departmental intranet resources.

There are no dedicated roles whose sole purpose is the fulfilment of the PSED, reflecting the Department's approach of embedding equality considerations into policy development, service design and delivery.

It is not possible to provide the total annual cost of compliance with the PSED across the Department, as responsibility for considering and meeting the Duty is integrated into a wide range of activities undertaken by employees as part of their normal roles.

The Department publishes information annually to demonstrate compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty. This information includes data relating to both employees and service users and is published through the Department's Annual Report and Accounts (DWP annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK).

DWP’s sponsored Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are independent public bodies directly responsible for their own compliance. Information regarding ALBs’ internal resource allocation is not held by DWP.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an on-going responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel.

Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work. Attempting to calculate an FTE or cost figure would incur disproportionate cost and still be highly inaccurate.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an on-going responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel. Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work. Attempting to calculate an FTE or cost figure would incur disproportionate cost and still be highly inaccurate. Sponsored Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are independent public authorities directly responsible for their own compliance. Information regarding ALBs’ internal resource allocation is not held by DCMS.

The Public Sector Equality Duty is a statutory obligation under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. Compliance is embedded in departmental policy, operational and service delivery work, rather than undertaken solely by dedicated personnel. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) do not hold central records of full time equivalent (FTE) staff or costs attributable solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) activity. Separating PSED activity from ordinary business would incur disproportionate cost.

a) Information has been provided for Home Office Arm’s Length Bodies that employ their own staff. The figures in the table below are as at 31 March 2026 and have been provided to the Home Office by each ALB.

b) The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and the Civil Servant and Other Pension Scheme (CSOPS) are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes. Arm’s Length Bodies are unable to identify their share of the underlying assets and liabilities.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an on-going responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel.

Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work.